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Les Battersby
Leslie Nelson Battersby was a character in Coronation Street from Ep 4223 - 4 Jul 1997 to Ep 6549 - 6 May 2007. He was the uncouth, rough and ready head of the dysfunctional Battersby family. He was accompanied by his wife Janice Battersby and daughter Leanne Battersby and stepdaughter Toyah Battersby. Quite the villain to start with, he launched hate campaigns against transgender Hayley Cropper and shouted and punched his way through life. Les started to mellow as time wore on. He left in May 2007 suddenly and never returned to Coronation Street. Les was played by actor Bruce Jones. Biography Backstory Leslie Battersby was born on the 28th August 1955 in Weatherfield to Betty Battersby and her husband. Les had a sister Josie. Les worked on the fairgrounds from a young age. In 1971, 16 year old Les had a relationship with Moira Kelly. She gave birth to his son Greg Kelly in 1972. For years, Les never knew he had a son. Les later met Stella Price and they had a relationship where he fathered Leanne Battersby in 1981. He then met Janice Lee several years later and they married in 1994. Les became a stepfather to Janice's daughter Toyah, who took his surname. Les was known for being mouthy, rough, tough and always ready for a fight. In June 1997 the Battersby family were rehoused and were to be given a new home. This was Coronation Street. Their new home was to be Number 5 Coronation Street. The council had bought No 5 and wanted to rehouse a troublesome family. The peace of the residents of the quiet Coronation Street was to be shattered. 1997-2007 Rough and ready Les stormed into Coronation Street in July 1997 with Janice and Leanne and Toyah. They played music loud, watched TV loud until the early hours and threw their weight around in the area. Neighbour Curly Watts, who worked nights, was becoming sleep deprived due to the Battersby's loud music being played all hours. One time Curly was woken up and barged into their house and threw their CD player out of the window. Curly's prize for doing this was a headbutt from Les, a Glasgow Kiss. Les clashed with Percy Sugden but due to Percy being a pensioner, Les thought twice about clumping Percy round the earhole. Later that year, previous occupier of No 5, Don Brennan, was caught by Les in the back yard and told to get lost. Don asked who Les was, and did not know people lived at his old house now. Don was dying at the time but out for revenge against Mike Baldwin. Les threatened to call the police so Don ran off down the alley. Les and his clan became very unpopular in Coronation Street. In April 1998, Les' long lost son Greg Kelly came to see Les, after hiring a detective to find Les. Les pretended he was Des Battersby, Les' twin brother. Other residents seemed to know Les so Greg made Les admit the truth, especially when he saw a photo of Moira, Greg's mother. Les seemed happy to have a son who was quite rich. In May 1998 Les was drunk and drove into a police car. Him and Janice had a row when she found out and Les borrowed a converted burger van from Charlie West. Les had been banned from driving due to his conviction. Janice called the police so Les quickly removed the wheels, with Toyah's help, and the police then arrived, and saw there were no wheels, and they refused to tell Les to shift the van, saying it is a domestic. The police then left. Fred Elliott wanted to get the Battersby family evicted due to the eyesore burger van outside their house but Les and Janice soon got back together when he did a hideous rendition of "I'm not in Love" to win her back. One time Fred Elliott walked past and kicked the eyesore van and it toppled over. Only Audrey Roberts saw it. They pretended to neighbours Mike and Des that it was 2 lads. The van was later towed away. When Les found out that Hayley Patterson was a transgender, he launched a hate campaign against her and her boyfriend Roy Cropper. By 1999, the Battersby's had mellowed a bit and were more intergrated into the community. Les was friends with Dennis Stringer. Dennis cae to stay with them in 2001. In 2005 Les and Cilla married. In May 2007, Les had to hurriedly leave Weatherfield. He was a roadie to a ZZ top band. Chesney missed Les' absence. After 2007 In 2008, Les contacted a disappointed Chesney that he wouldn't be returning home to Weatherfield. He had moved on and started afresh. In 2011, Les was originally going to attend Leanne's 30th birthday party, but phoned to see he was unable to make it. Probably for the best, as it was revealed during the party that new Rovers landlady Stella Price was Les' ex and Leanne's biological mother. Les could not face returning and having to confront his past. In 2014, when Les' estranged wife Cilla made a brief return, she revealed that she was no longer in contact with Les and hadn't seen him for years. Les was mentioned in January 2018 when Chesney and Sinead planned on marrying. Memorable info Born: 28th August 1955, Weatherfield, Lancashire Full Name: Leslie Battersby Parents: Mr Battersby and Betty Battersby Siblings: Josie Spouse: Janice Lee (1994-2002) Children: Greg Kelly (1972), Leanne Tilsley (1981) Grandchildren: Oliver Tilsley Stepchildren: Toyah Battersby, Chesney Brown Trivia *The Battersbys were the rough, uncouth family bought into the show in 1997 by producer Brian Park in his bid to make the show more modern. *Les left Weatherfield quickly in May 2007 as actor Bruce Jones was suspended from the show. Bruce never returned to the show, so as of 2020, 13 years later, a chance of Les retunring is very minimal. Bruce has also slated the show since his sacking. Category:Coronation Street Characters. Category:Past characters. Category:Characters first seen in 1997. Category:Characters last seen in 2007. Category:Coronation Street bad boys. Category:Battersbys. Category:1955 births Category:1994 Marriages Category:2005 Marriages Category:Convicted Criminals. Category:Villains. Category:Taxi Drivers Category:Fairground Workers